It’s believed this artillery short sword was manufactured at the C.S.A. Arms Factory in Wilmington/Kenansville North Carolina. The Armory was owned and operated by Louis Froelich who was born in Bavaria (later part of Germany) in 1817. He and his wife arrived in New York in 1860, eventually settling in Wilmington North Carolina during the spring of 1861 as tensions between the North and South had reached its boiling point.

Froelich was a skilled craftsman and recognized the need for arms and equipment in the Confederacy. He made many different types of Edged Weapons…….D-Handle Knives, short swords, sabers, swords, lance & pikes and just about anything else that would cut through a man or beast.

Unlike most of the edged weapons produced in the South Froelich’s quality standards was higher then most. A smart businessman Froelich named his Armory “C.S.A. (Confederate States Armory) Arms Factory”, he believed that the Confederate Government would recognize his allegiance and purchase goods from him……which they did.

My new short sword has some pitting on the blade which adds to its character, it’s sand cast brass handle has a red hue showing its high copper content and the pommel is about as cockeyed as could be……just some of the details collectors love about Southern Edged Weapons.

The scabbard (in my opinion) is not original to this type of short sword, I believe it to be from a Southern Short Sword however not this style………it’s believed that the frog stud on a Froelich manufactured scabbard would be tear drop shaped, however as you can see in the images above this example is round suggesting that it’s not a Froelich made scabbard (or maybe Froelich used subcontractors to make leather scabbards)…..maybe one day we’ll know…”.🤔

I’d like to thank John W. McAden Jr. & Chris E. Fonvielle Jr. for there book “Louis Froelich, Arms-Maker to the Confederacy” without there book much of what we know about the CSA Arms Factory would be lost to time.

If you have any questions about this Artillery Short Sword or any of the other weapons in the Civil War Arsenal feel free to ask. Attn: Eugene West, www.civilwararsenal.com thanks for stopping by.